Miss You, Love You (2026) Movie Review: A Modest Weepie That Feels Like Filmed Theater, For Better or Worse

Share it

Miss You, Love You (2026) has the premise of a classic two-hander and finds an interesting angle in which to examine grief, loss, and emotional healing. It’s clearly a script that is infused with personal experience, given that writer/director Jim Rash began work on the project shortly after the death of his own father. It’s somewhat comforting to see that HBO, a network that used to make television films that were humble in scope frequently, is able to continuously roll out this type of programming, even when other services put just as much effort into their streaming features as they would release theatrically.

The limitations of “Miss You, Love You” are somewhat charming, but it’s abundantly clear that it was originally intended for the stage, and that making a low-budget film with two notable stars was simply a more feasible option. What’s most surprising is that “Miss You, Love You” could actually benefit from more restraint; it’s when the film shifts away from the traditional setup that it begins to lose momentum.

“Miss You, Love You” is set shortly after the death of Henry Paterson, following a long bout with Parkinson’s. His widow, Diane (Allison Janney) had struggled to take care of him once his health began to deteriorate, and never truly adapted to their new home in New Mexico. Diane was previously married to another man with whom she had a son, Tyler, who is now an adult with a highly successful career as a journalist. However, Tyler’s involvement with an overseas project means that he will miss his stepfather’s funeral. As a means of watching out for his mother (whilst also keeping a distance), Tyler sends his assistant, Jamie Simms (Andrew Rannells), to help prepare for the funerary arrangements.

The tension is set up nicely from the opening scenes; Diane is still in a state of immediate grief, and is opposed to the presence of anyone who tries to console her. She’s specifically frustrated with Tyler, with whom she has had a frigid relationship with for several years; it’s not only that Tyler never took a liking to his stepfather, but that he thought sending someone to work through procedures and specifications would replace making an actual appearance.

Jamie is caught in the crossfire, as his loyalty to Tyler means that he needs to care for Diane without disclosing too much about her son’s life. As the film slowly reveals, Tyler’s withholding nature has caused both Jamie and Diane to feel apprehensive; at the same time, there’s a logical explanation for the friction between all three characters, making for an uncomfortable situation in which everyone is blameless.

Rash is himself an actor and acolyte of Alexander Payne (with whom he co-wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for “The Descendants”), so it should come as no surprise that he was able to write to the strengths of his two stars. That both Rannells and Janney have backgrounds in theater make them well-equipped for the blunt, occasionally flowery dialogue, which authentically captures the difficult position that both characters are in.

Jamie wants to do the best job imaginable without ever crossing a line, and Diane is surprisingly receptive to someone who actually cares, even if she would never admit it. Rash is smart to let these two rattle off in extended conversations in which there isn’t an immediate point, only to create clear and concise shifts in the power dynamics early on. It’s building towards an ending in which the heightened emotions need to feel justified, and for the most part “Miss You, Love You” earns the right to escalate.

That the film is mostly focused on two characters that aren’t present, given that Tyler is absent and Henry is dead, makes for an interesting story about those who are on the sidelines. Diane had withstood criticism that she was a dour, pessimistic counter to her husband, but his death means that she is out of place in the social structure that he left behind for them.

Conversely, Jamie’s relationship with Tyler is a bit more complicated than he lets on initially, leading to some impactful conversations that reshape Diane’s perspective. Although it reveals that it treks the film into manipulative territory, “Miss You, Love You” benefits from the actors being quite charismatic. It’s not a film that ever becomes “laugh-out-loud” funny,but the personalities are so strong that it can produce some minor chuckles and clips along at a nice pace.

The issue that “Miss You, Love You” runs into is everything that surrounds the central relationship. The preparations for Henry’s funeral involve neighbors and members of the church he attended, and these ancillary characters feel completely one-note; it’s as if Rash poured so much effort into fleshing out his leads that he had to exaggerate their fluidity by putting them in a banal world.

The straightforward, unflashy approach to shooting extended conversations with little cutting works when it is Rannell and Janney one-on-one, but even the most minor of movements or action transform the style into that of a sitcom. There’s a significant chunk of time focused on a conflict regarding the conservative members of Henry’s church that almost seems to trivialize the more nuanced conversation between Tyler and Diane about finding the right way to heal.

“Miss You, Love You” backs itself into a corner because there’s no way that it could end in a way that didn’t feel like either a ham-fisted attempt at being a tearjerker or a conveniently sparing embodiment of hope. That the film is a little bit of both is actually to its credit, as Rash does seem to understand that these situations are confusing, and that the solutions will never unravel themselves easily.

It’s equally surprising that the film nearly collapses under the weight of a hackneyed melodramatic twist, only to end with a moving final scene that gives both actors that chance to do some of their best work in a decade. “Miss You, Love You” has very specific ambitions in mind, and it fulfills them without ever threatening to do anything more.